Bi-layer composite dressing of gelatin nanofibrous mat and poly vinyl alcohol hydrogel for drug delivery and wound healing application: in-vitro and in-vivo studies.

Present investigation involves the development of a bi-layer dressing of gelatin nanofibrous mat loaded with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)/poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel and its in-vivo evaluation on full-thickness excision wounds in experimental Wistar rats. Nanomorphological observation, porosity, effect of crosslinking on tensile strength, physical stability and drug release profile in phosphate buffer and biocompatibility aspects of electrospun nanomat were investigated by various physico-chemical tools. EGCGa release profile was found to increase from 2-4 days with decreasing crosslinking time from 15 to 5 min. PVA hydrogels were prepared by freeze-thaw method and has been utilized as a protective and hydrating outer layer of the bi-layer dressing. Topical application of bi-layer composite dressing loaded with EGCG improve the healing rate in experimental rats as acute wounds model which was evidenced by significant increase in DNA (approximately 42%), total protein (approximately 32%), hydroxyproline (approximately 26%) and hexosamine approximately 24%) contents. A faster wound contraction was observed in wounds treated with composite dressing from approximately 14% to 47%. Histopathological examination revealed significant improvement in angiogenesis, re-epithelialization and less inflammatory response in comparison to control. Van-Gieson's collagen stains revealed matured, compact and parallel deposition of collagen fibrils on day 12. These results were supported by up-regulated expressions of matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs-2 and 9) by gelatin zymography. Control release of EGCG, 3D porous architecture of nanofibrous scaffolds as well as moist microenvironment provides ideal conditions for uninterrupted wound healing.